Improvement in water-wheels



A. B. STRAND.

WATER-WHEEL.

110,188,979 Patented March 27,1877.

UNITED STATES- PATE AUGUST B. STRAND, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OFONE-HALF HIS RIGHT TO LAURITZ THOEN, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN WATER-WHEELS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 188,979, dated March27, 1877 application filed March 6, 1877.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, AUGUST B. STRAND, ofChicago, in the county of (look and State of Illinois, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Water -Wheels; and I do herebydeclare that the following isa full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof, which will on- .able others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to that class of vertical water-wheels in whichthe water is fed into the center or core of the wheel and discharged atits periphery; and it consists, first, in the improved construction ofthe wheel, by which the water, which is fed under pressore, is caused toyield the greatest possible percentage of power; and, second, in theconstruction and arrangement of parts by which the wheel may be reversedor made to revolve in the opposite direction at any time, and withoutstopping it, all in the manner hereinafter more fully shown anddescribed.

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a general perspective view.Fig. 2 is a side view, and Fig.3 is a section through the wheel andaxle.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all thefigures.

A is a circular plate or disk, which forms the body of my improvedwater-wheel. It has a central perforation, a, forming the core at whichthe discharge pipes or channels converge. These pres'ent the appearanceof conical pipes or tubes B B, flattened on one side and benteccentrically, as shown in Fig. 2. They are disposed on the two sides orfaces of disk A, in the manner shown in the drawing-that is, with thewide ends of the pipes converging at the center around perforation a, soas to form achamber or reservoir, b b, on each side of the disk, the twochambers being united by the central perforation a, and the narrow endsof the pipes extending to the periphery of the disk A, where they areopen for the discharge of water. In the drawings, the pipes on one sideof the disk are indicated by the letter B, and those on the opposite,side by B. They are alike in all respects,

except in this, that on opposite sides they are bent or curved inopposite directions. This construction causes the water, when expelledthrough the pipes B, to rotate the wheel in one direction, while, whenexpelled through the pipes B, it revolves the wheel in the oppositedirection. This necessitates the construction of a mechanism forregulating the flow of water into only one series of pipes at a time, asI shall now proceed more fully to describe.

The axle of the wheel is formed on one side by a solid shaft, 0, securedto the solid outer wall of the chamber 1), formed by the convergingpipes B on one side of disk A. On the other side it is formed by a heavytube, D, passing through chamber b, where it has slots or openings 01,through which water may pass into pipes B, and terminating in chamber1),

, into which it barely projects. In tube D slides another tube, K,closed at the end, and having slots e, corresponding to slots d in tubeD. The tube,K must fit closely, like a piston, in tube D. It has nearits open end, which projects into tube D some distance beyond the wallof chamber 1), several studs, ff, projecting through slots 9 g in tubeD. G G are rings, secured to studs f f parallel to each other, andsliding on the outside of tube D. F is a lever, having its fulcrum at h.At its lower end it has a segmental rack, F, the teeth of which engagewith the rings G. Thus, when the wheel is in operation, and the rings Grevolve with the tubes D and K, the rings slide between the teeth of thesegment F. When this is moved sidewise, by operating the lever F itpresses against the rings, thus forcing these and the tube K, to whichthey are attached, sidewise. Now, if the" tube K before this operationwas in the position shown in Fig. 3that is, with its closed endprojecting only as far as the disk-the water, when let into tube D, willpass through perforations or slots 6 in tube K, and slots din tube D,(which, at the time, are outside slots 6,) and into thedischarge-channels B, through which it is ejected. The end of tube Kbeing closed, no water can pass into channels B. In the iiistant theposition of tube K is reversed by the operation of the lever F, theslots at in tube D are closed by the solid walls of tube K, the end ofwhich having the slots 6 is now pushed into chamber 1), into which thewater is thus conducted, and from whence itis ejected through channelsB. These, being curved in the opposite direction of channels B, causethe instantaneous reversion of the wheel.

The tube D is connected by a loose joint or coupling, L, with the fluineor conduit-pipe M, through which water is conducted, under suitablepressure, from the reservoir or stream, the water of which drives thewheel. The pipe M has a stop-cock or gate, by which the water can beshut off and regulated at any time. The wheel is arranged in suitablebearings, and its axle O connects it, by a gearwheel, drum and belt, orotherwise, with the machinery which the wheel is to drive. The entirewheel is also preferably inclosed in a box or casing. (Not shown in thedrawing.)

The operation and advantages of my improved water-wheel will be readilyunderstood from the foregoing description. The water, when fed into thecore of the wheel, which is formed by the converging wide ends of theeccentrically-curved conical dischargetubes, will, when dischargedthrough the tubes, press against the walls of these with considerableforce, thus causing the wheel to rotate, not only from the weight of theWater, (which accumulates in the bucket shaped curves of the tubes asthe wheel rotates, and is discharged as soon as the opening of each tubeis at the lowest point,) but also from the pressure, which acts directlyupon the tubes with great force.

The disk A, being solid, acts as a fly-wheel.

Aside from the improved construction of my wheel, an important featureis the facility with which it may be reversed, as already described. Inconstruction it is compact and simple, and, owing principally to theconical shape of the discharge-tubes, the consumption of water is verylimited.

It is obvious that the construction of my improved water-wheel may bevaried in a multitude of ways without changing, in the main, theprinciple of my invention. Thus, for instance, may the discharge-tubeson both sides of the disk A be curved in the same direction, or only oneset of tubes may be used, in both of which cases the device forreversing the flow of water is dispensed with, since the wheel then canrevolve only in one direction; or, instead of the precise device hereindescribed for reversing the flow of the water, (when two sets ofdiflerently-curved dischargetubes are used,) any other suitable devicemay be used without changing the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described myinvention, Iclaim and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the United States- 1. The solid vertical disk A,having on one or both sides conical eccentrically curved tubes,converging at the center, and having for axle on one side the solidshaft G and on the other side the tube D, through which water is fedinto the wheel, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown andspecified.

2. The disk A, having on each side a set of conical eccentrically-curvcddischarge-tubes, B B, converging at the center so as to form chambers bb, united by a central perforation, a, the tubes on the two sides beingcurved in opposite directions, substantially as and for the purposehereinbefore set forth.

3. The combination of the disk A, having tubes B B, arranged as hereindescribed,with the inlet-tube D, having slots (1, and the tube K, closedat one end, and having slots e, the tube K sliding inside tube D,substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein shown andspecified.

4. The combination of a water-wheel, consistin g of a solid verticaldisk, A, having pipes B B, curved in opposite directions, with a device,substantially as herein described, for cutting off the flow of waterinto either set of pipes at any time, thus reversing the wheel,substantially as and for the.purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in presence of two witnesses.

AUGUST B. STRAND.

Witnesses:

CHE. RASMUSSEN, L. BRATSON.

